What’s Wrong With Labor Markets?

There have never been so many highly educated people in the world, yet the crises in Europe, the slow recovery in the US, and the rise of emerging economies are revealing hidden flaws in labor markets worldwide. Addressing them will require a broad range of policy interventions.

PHILADELPHIA – Around the world, labor markets are in disarray. Unemployment is high in many countries, especially among the young. At the same time, many companies report having trouble finding qualified workers. Record numbers of people are going into retirement, but many would prefer to work, at least part-time. Information technology has displaced workers even as it has created new jobs.

These conflicting signals and trends are a symptom of a series of fundamental mismatches between what employers need and the talents of those they would like to hire. There have never been so many highly educated people in the world; yet the crises in Europe, the slow recovery in the United States, and the rise of emerging economies are revealing previously hidden flaws in the labor market. Addressing them will require a broad range of policy interventions.

The problem begins with the education system, which used to be more effective not only at educating and training new generations, but also at sorting them into promising career paths. Unfortunately, schools and universities have not changed much over the last 30 years, even as the world of work has undergone epic upheaval. Online education and training has taken off in the corporate world, but universities continue to resist it. Cost inflation is also severely affecting the accessibility of high-quality education for most of the population.

Looks like that statistic is wrong -- it's not 40% of two-parent households, it's 40% of households with children. About two thirds of that group consists of single mothers. Not such a positive development after all!

That's really narrow. K-12 education for most countries are mostly government programs. In addition governments run a big proportion of of colleges & career training/re-training programs are government run or government funded. Even plenty of private schooling received substantial government mandates.

Educations is one of the areas like military, utilities, and correction where it's very difficult to divest from government attachements. We as a whole are better if there is a good collaboration between education & employment because it increased productivity & decrease social conflict.
Despite the liberation ideals, a mob of disaffected, angry, poor people will destroy ever free market idea ever created & production is meaningless when people blow it up. A mob is never rational so it does now care it we're all poorer together & dead entrepreneurs & tycoons aren't productive.

If they liberalize the job market much more and the jackboots will march again. To many policies are creating to many people with little or nothing to lose the result of that is inevitably a Man on Horseback as historians say. That level of disillusionment leads to Hitler, Mussolini, Robespierre and any change beats the hand we are dealt. The elites should study history more at a point things explode, and policies the benefit the corporate donor class blatantly at the expense of everyone else throws fuel on the fire. Also it would take is one good demagogue and it could happen anywhere

Immigration would help labor markets? BS!!! I already can't compete with H1B's that don't have an load of student loans to payback & folks who telecommute for 25 dollars a day so let's make it easier for the companies to hire people who can work for 1/2 or less that I can afford to. As far as I can tell your suggestions would do quite a number on the working man but the companies will do quite well. You folks in the elites are just angling for a new Bastille day I think.

I don't know about birthright but try competing with someone who can work for $750.00 a month less then you since he doesn't have to pay student loans. Having trained my own replacement H1B's several because the company could save money on them. I don't mind competition but imported who can work cheaper since they don't have to pile on loans to get a degree isn't exactly a balanced competition.

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